Top Ten Reasons Why Canada is a Popular Immigration Destination? | Hacker News Reader

Top Ten Reasons Why Canada is a Popular Immigration Destination?

immigration.net.in

25 pointsiamelgringo30 comments

Canada's rape rate is more than double the US rape rate. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_statistics

How the hell did that happen? I just read it yesterday when reading an article about Japan having the lowest rape rate in the world.

So should we not worry because most people on HN are males, and therefore won't be raped if we move, or should we worry that if we move we're more likely to become rapists, statistically speaking?

Feel free to downmod me for trolling, I just find it interesting.

There is no universally accepted definition for rape, so that's a flawed statistic. As well, police infrastucture and local culture may drastically sway how often incidences are reported.

Yes, the difference is related to what gets reported, and how it is defined. I think it is more narrowly defined in the US, and more under-reported.

I've been told that islamic countries (and Muslim areas in India) tend to have high rape rates, and immigration from such countries tends to bring a few extra rapists. (Note: not trying to suggest all immigrants or all muslims are rapists.) Canada has more islamic immigration than the US, so this is a possible cause.

I haven't bothered to research the issue, so I'm happy to be corrected. A quick google search finds this source http://www.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=6251 , along with a bunch of far less credible sources. Anyone have good information on this hypothesis?

Because Canada with its points based system of immigration became a sausage fest.

We're USA without the baggage. Plus, free health care.

And we already have a large immigrant population, so you don't have to worry about fitting in. In our bigger cities, you'll likely find entire neighborhoods of people from your part of the world, who speak your language and share your beliefs.

Without the good weather, either, I think..? That's a bit of a downside, no?

I like warm weather... I'd hate to live somewhere where it goes down to -20C in the winter... and a 25C maximum in the summer isn't exactly thrilling.

I guess you just can't have it all!...

We keep the temperature down to keep out the riffraff. Otherwise everyone would want to come here. ;)

I live in Canada, and we also have large immigrant populations in the large cities. This is not a unique feature of the US.

(He was talking about Canada)

I talked to a fellow Swede a few years ago, that worked in Canada for a while. He described it "as Sweden, but it works." IMHO, that sounds good.

(But the situation depended a lot on where in Canada you lived.)

minus all the statuesque Swedish women...

Someone told me a few days ago they do not have "programmers/developers" in the list of skilled professions any more. Team leads still can apply. So I guess it's not a truly "hacker-oriented" country any more.

If you have a job offer as a "Software Products Developer", you get pretty much automatic approval for up to a 3 year work permit. I have a friend who literally just brought his offer letter and CV to the border and got in, no paperwork or waiting. See http://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGLIsh/work/special-tech.asp for a little more info . Now, this doesn't help you if you don't have a Canadian employer, or if you're looking for something more permanent, but it's still pretty hacker friendly.

and does anyone know about companies that look for foreign software developers?

Also note, PhDs with a job offer get a multi-year year income tax exemption.

Everyone keeps mentioning the weather but there are some really nice cities (Vancouver + Toronto) that have climates no worse than some of the northern US states.

You may as well ask why people choose to live in Upstate New York.

You may as well ask why people choose to live in Upstate New York.

Few do. Upstate NY is losing population. In fact the whole northeastern edge of the US is losing population, except one county in NH.

Northen US states don't have great weather... I live in London, and although the weather is awful, it rarely ever gets below 0C here. New York? Chicago? They're below freezing for half the winter, no?

Do you recommend people to migrate to Canada for startup? Any benefit there?

Immigration to Canada for the express purpose of creating a start-up can be a bit difficult for a young 'un, at least. You need to have a net worth of at least $CAN 300K and previous experience managing a business in order to qualify for Entrepreneur Class immigration status. (Self-employment Class status is only available to people in a clearly-defined, limited number of fields -- mostly cultural and athletic.)

If you can meet the requirements, though, there are some areas that are particularly kind to high-tech start-ups. The Kitchener-Waterloo area has become the Canadian take on Silicon Valley thanks in large part to the University of Waterloo (still one of the best math and CS schools in the world, with co-op students more than willing to do internships) and the influence of companies like Research In Motion. Ottawa is still trying to attract tech, even if Corel's glory days are past. Vancouver is a sort of northern outpost of the Seattle area (rainy, no real winter, but it's God-awful expensive to live there). Calgary is another hot spot, but you need to be of a certain temperament to "get" the place. And there's always the Toronto area -- great for amenities, culture and so forth and the de facto capitol of all things business, and there is no lack of code monkeys if you feel you need them. There be hackers of both hardware and software in the Greater Toronto Area, but not so much within the city itself.

There be hackers of both hardware and software in the Greater Toronto Area, but not so much within the city itself

Huh? Spadina Ave. in Toronto is lined with startups and tech companies, as is King West (aka 'Liberty Village'). There are tons of tech events in the city (Democamp, etc. See http://yousayyeah.com/calendar), as well a hacker space (http://hacklab.to)

I'm not aware of much hacker activity in the 'burbs other than Markham perhaps.

There are many government grants and loans for small businesses and startup. At my startup, all our rnd salaries are essentially covered by a grant.

For companies that have revenues under 500k, the tax rate is only 22%.

Hulu is blocked. So you get much more done.

Hulu isn't blocked by Canada (we don't block it) they, Hulu, restrict it from their end in the USA.

If you're interested in Net Neutrality this is what ruins it, divide and conquer by making people stop caring about the WWW and only about their part of the world, it's like China in reverse.

Do you like cold, snowy winters and high taxes? ;)

Alternatively, you don't have to worry much about health insurance.

I'm a Canadian developer. I love my country but the weather here in the winter is... Horrid.

By mid-March I'm ready to pack up and move ANYWHERE the sun shines. Where I live (GTA, golden horseshoe) you can go a solid week without seeing the sun, given the cloud cover.

Conversely, but mid-August I start to wish I lived somewhere a little cooler. Temperatures in the 30s aren't unusual and with 100% humidity it can feel closer to 40 degrees.

If you aren't a fan of extreme temperatures, look elsewhere. If you can deal with them, Canada is a great place to live.

EDIT: Strange phenomenon - in the winter, you pray for summer forgetting about the extreme heat and humidity. In the summer your pray for the winter, forgetting about frostbite and driving your car down a major highway with six inches of snow on the ground. The mind works in mysterious ways.

I think missing from the list is the fact that for many immigrants, a Canadian visa is a stepping stone to US residency. While I am speaking from anecdotal, many of my Indian, Isreali, Russian collegeues have taken this path to working in the states.

I was interested in applying for immigration to Australia. I figured that everybody wants to go to Canada so the process will take forever. That is, until I hit the work qualification part of 6-8 years of employment.

I didn't actually end up applying. I am not sure how wise that decision is.

I think weather is a big concern.

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